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Goldfish Questions

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I originally had two small (27 cent, Petsmart bought) goldfish in a 5 gallon tank for about six months. I then learned that that was horrible, so I upgraded to a 55 gallon tank. My goldfish, Mylena and Jethro (I don't actually know their sexes), have been living in the 55 gallon for 5 months now and haven't grown much at all. Their bodies have maybe grown 1/4 - 1/2 inch in length, but that's it. Is this normal, or should they be growing more?
Also, Mylena's tail has grown significantly. It's at least twice as long as Jethro's now. Is there any reason why this would happen?

How much should I be feeding them? I've been told so many different things that I don't know what's right anymore. I usually feed them each 4-6 Aqueon Color-Enhancing Goldfish Granules (small pellets) every night, but I've been told to feed them less, or to feed them every other day (which I can't do; I'd feel like I was starving them). They are pretty active and swim to meet me every time they see me (I feel like they're asking for food).

They live with four nerite snails, and the tank has a large air stone and two 40 gallon power filters.

The temperature is a steady 73 degrees (I know this is warm, but I can't really change it).
The nitrites and ammonia are always at zero, and I never let the nitrates get above 10, though they usually hang out at a 5ppm.

Hi. The fact that the fish were in a very small tank for 6 months may have stunted their growth...however....you are doing everything right now!! Keeping the nitrates less than 10 is perfect and if you were overfeeding it would be difficult to do this! Congrats to you for taking such good care of Mylena and Jethro!!

Some types of goldfish are slow growing. Based on the photos, I don't see the typical signs of being stunted so I would think you up-graded in time

Have you properly identified what type of gold fish they are yet ?

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

They may show no signs but I do believe that somehow their health must have been affected long term by being in such a cramped space. You are however on the right track now. It could also be that after living in a 5 gallon, they may be taking time before resuming growth.
It is not going to be an issue for a while, but you should also keep in the back of your mind that healthy common goldfish will exceed 12 inches, and even stunted ones will potentially outgrow your tank and require a pond or similar.

Good for you on upgrading them! In time (a year or more) they may outgrow this tank, but I'll get to that later.

There's a few likely reasons they are "slow growing", one, the obvious, is a minor growth pause from being in cramped conditions. The other, is this plus a combined stress factor of being moved to a new home. This can take a few weeks before they establish themselves.

The other issue is feeding. 4-6 pellets each is actually miniscule. They won't starve on that of course, but if recollection serves, Goldfish generally eat 1/4 of their body weight every day, sometimes more. Considering it is a tank situation though, feeding that much would cause problems. I would recommend feeding them what you are, but do it TWICE a day. Morning and evening. Keep an eye on nitrates though, as more food = more waste. If they aren't eating it, or you begin to have nitrate problems, then cut back.

The images of the fish are a bit blurry, however I can tell you with near %100 percent accuracy your fish are comets. What kind of comet I can't tell, and only time will tell that. You could be fortunate (I have been loads of times) finding in the Petco feeder tanks the surprise of getting a Sarsa Comet. A regular comet will likely stay Pineapple gold to orange, but a sarsa will over time and circumstances of comfort turn a deep magnificent red, often with bright brilliant white patches. You never know though, its a crapshoot.

Either way, these puppies will grow... even if it seems slow. I had my daughters poor long suffering Common "Fishers" in a 10 gallon for two years before I realized the absolute error of this, upgrading him to first a 29 gallon, and then, a 300 gallon pond, and then now a 750 gallon pond. He is stunted, but, he is also now at four years old, 9 inches long lol. His Sarsa buddies, gotten once we had the big pond are around 8 inches, and the Shubbies are nearing a foot. The Shubbies we only got last May as babies! One Sarsa (from the petco feeder tank) we purchased in July is now 6 inches.

So I decided that Mylena is a Comet and Jethro is a Common.
What will I do when they outgrow their tank? I can't have a bigger tank where I'm living now, and I'm afraid to put them in a pond.
Not to sound ridiculous, but will the other goldfish bully them? And will they survive in an outdoor pond, after living so long in an indoor aquarium?

Based on what I have read abut them, goldfish can grow very fast until they reach about 3 inches and then their growth rate slows down. I believe it takes them about three years to get to the maximum adult size. For your both of your gold fish that maximum size will be well over a foot in length

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

When I had goldfish I started with a 50 gal. I let nitrates dictate water changes....as they grow you'll need to do more water changes. I always did 75% water changes and never let nitrates reach 20. If and when it becomes unmanageable you'll be happy to know that goldfish adapt very well to "new" goldfish friends. You'll do the right thing when it's time. :-)

When your fish friends outgrow their tank, a pond is the only reliable humane living area for them. That's the fact. Common and Comet do fine in these settings and will readily "make friends" with other fish in the pond. In fact, Goldfish are rather social, and I've found from casual observation of my own and friend's ponds, they tend to form a "pack" of sorts. One is usually the ring leader, the rest follow the lead.

If you intend to release into an already established pond (not a natural pond or stream, never never), plan to do so in mid spring, when the pond temp is at around 60 degrees, and acclimate them. Colder or hotter they may suffer shock. Also, you may wish to observe carefully non-stop, as if you don't know you have females, releasing one into a new pond can cause a "dog pile on the rabbit" scenario, where she dies of shock from being swarmed and beaten up by the males to mate all at once.